NEWS: GameEx 7.73

[Tom Speirs]

14th March, 2007 - GameEx 7.73

Full video and DVD support in Vista

Volume control working in Vista

Windowed mode in Vista Aero is enhanced and no longer shuts down Aero

Cosmetic enhancments to the user interface when showing game info header, it fades.

Title toolbar auto scrolls out and hides with V1 themes when mouse not active, when set to always show

Fixes list issues after selecting play random videos

Fixes issue with not able to disable screensaver in some cases

Create snap on thread feature has been removed

New theme included "Media Center" and is the default

When playing a video or DVD windows screensaver is disabled

Full support for HTML apps in Vista

More responsive when playing videos or dvd's

The MAME list update is much more system friendly, and will allow you to do other things on your PC while its running, and no black screen when in full screen and alt tabbing out

Fixes volume control with SlikStik and DirectInput

Thanks to Headkaze - Theme Editor 1.76. It supports custom layouts for the different modules, but I still need to implement this in GameEx.

Should fix text being truncated in V2 themes when game list is shown on the left of the screen

Window Maximize button enabled when GameEx is displaying in a window

New settings to change resoluton and refresh rate based on frame rate of DVDs and Videos

When GameEx is windowed it will now only draw to the screen when it has focus.

New setting to make the menu text same size as the game text. To turn on in theme.ini use MenuTextSameSize=False. This is a very welcome feature for low resolutions on cabs.

New theme.ini setting GradientTitleFont=True. And LowerCaseTitleFont. Look at the new Media Center theme for example

New functionality to be able to stop and start Jukebox with gamepad, keyboard and arcade controls

3D transitions are slightly faster and improved

Updated MCE Glossy theme for widescreen usage

The GameEx display main loop may run a little faster

GameExtender server uses less cpu time

[Tom Speirs]

Headkaze. To fix your theme, change the fonts same size option to false. Also the Clock animation will hopefully look better now. If not ill add an option for you to turn it off next release. Cheers buddy.

[Adultery]

Awesome!

Thanks for the quick release! Now my laptop and GameEx should play nicely together. I can't wait to try this out!!!

[iano]

Awesome!

Thanks for the quick release! Now my laptop and GameEx should play nicely together. I can't wait to try this out!!!

Cheers Tom !

[headkaze]

Forgot to mention you might want to add the latest LCD plugin as it will probably be the latest for a while (unless there are bug fixes).

Here are my latest findings for version 7.73

- Alpha fading between menus dosn't look as good as it did before. It's hard to explain but text fading out towards you looks okay, but the new text fading in from behind is corrupted.

- No more crashing when you ctrl-alt-del to exit It also seems to shutdown plugins correctly when you exit this way too which is cool.

- Enabling GradientTitleFont results in the title text background being black. In other words black is not color keyed out.

- MenuTextSameSize is actually called MenuFontSameSize this solves my layout issue (thanks heaps for fixing this one )

- The clock animation still looks the same

- Something seems to be introduced too, when the video snap first displays it shows corrupt video. This is only for a moment before the video starts playing. No biggy, but does look a bit wacky.

Thanks for the release Tom, and let me know if I can help with any more testing.

[442much]

That last two times I upgraded to GameEx, it replaced my LED plugin with an older version. Also, it replaced my LCD.ini file with the default file which wiped all of my settings.

[headkaze]

That last two times I upgraded to GameEx, it replaced my LED plugin with an older version. Also, it replaced my LCD.ini file with the default file which wiped all of my settings.

Yeah I know, it happened to me too. The plugin has always been backwards compatible but when GameEx overwrites it with the older version the older version can't read the the newer LCD.ini settings so it overwrites them when you enter the configuration. Hopefully Tom will add a check to overwrite only if the file is newer.

[amos_82]

Nice update Tom; Some really nice features!

i just noticed that a program called 'Ghostscript' was installed with the new version in 'C:\Program Files\gs', should this be installed in the gameex directory?

Also is it safe to delete the folder after uninstalling?

amos

[Tom Speirs]

Nice update Tom; Some really nice features!

i just noticed that a program called 'Ghostscript' was installed with the new version in 'C:\Program Files\gs', should this be installed in the gameex directory?

Also is it safe to delete the folder after uninstalling?

amos

Thats for the GameEx manual viewer. It needs to be installed seperatly to meet licensing requirements. If you dont need or want the manual viewer its safe to delete.

EDIT: Its not new with this version.

[Tom Speirs]

Forgot to mention you might want to add the latest LCD plugin as it will probably be the latest for a while (unless there are bug fixes).

Here are my latest findings for version 7.73

- Alpha fading between menus dosn't look as good as it did before. It's hard to explain but text fading out towards you looks okay, but the new text fading in from behind is corrupted.

- No more crashing when you ctrl-alt-del to exit It also seems to shutdown plugins correctly when you exit this way too which is cool.

- Enabling GradientTitleFont results in the title text background being black. In other words black is not color keyed out.

- MenuTextSameSize is actually called MenuFontSameSize this solves my layout issue (thanks heaps for fixing this one )

- The clock animation still looks the same

- Something seems to be introduced too, when the video snap first displays it shows corrupt video. This is only for a moment before the video starts playing. No biggy, but does look a bit wacky.

Thanks for the release Tom, and let me know if I can help with any more testing.

Thanks a lot buddy. Hopefully all above should be fixed in 7.74 now available. Ill add an option to turn off the clock next release or maybe do some private testing with you if you don't mind. The Gradient title font wont be used if your using other font settings such as outline fonts. It wasnt properly disabling the feature hence the bug.

[headkaze]

Everything is fixed in the latest version apart from the alpha fade (not sure if it's intentional but it dosn't look as good as earlier versions AFAIK) and the clock animation is still the same. Buuuut, I'm sounding too much like I'm complaining, this is a really great release, everything else is fine now. Great work Tom

BTW I'm always happy to do personal testing if need be

[headkaze]

This may sound like another complaint, so I apologise if it does. I just really noticed that the new alpha fading routines are much slower than before (scrolling through a list seems to be stutter for example). I think this is due to the text above fading in instead of scrolling down from above. It could also be what looks like the text scrolling in from behind I'm not sure. If it could be possible Tom to have an option to use the old alpha blend routine I will really appreciate it. I could drop my resolution down to 1024 x 768 but for a while now its been running fine at 1280 x 1024 and I would love to keep it that way. Thanks again for all your tireless work, you are a LEGEND

BTW I just received a deguessing wand in the mail today and it fixed my horried monitor discolouration! It has been a great day for me

EDIT: Just noticed that videos in attract mode run alot smoother. Brilliant!

[nexus6]

This may sound like another complaint, so I apologise if it does. I just really noticed that the new alpha fading routines are much slower than before (scrolling through a list seems to be stutter for example). I think this is due to the text above fading in instead of scrolling down from above.

strangeways this appears in the new media center theme but not when in my own theme. how can i get this in my theme?

[Tom Speirs]

This may sound like another complaint, so I apologise if it does. I just really noticed that the new alpha fading routines are much slower than before (scrolling through a list seems to be stutter for example). I think this is due to the text above fading in instead of scrolling down from above. It could also be what looks like the text scrolling in from behind I'm not sure. If it could be possible Tom to have an option to use the old alpha blend routine I will really appreciate it. I could drop my resolution down to 1024 x 768 but for a while now its been running fine at 1280 x 1024 and I would love to keep it that way. Thanks again for all your tireless work, you are a LEGEND

BTW I just received a deguessing wand in the mail today and it fixed my horried monitor discolouration! It has been a great day for me

EDIT: Just noticed that videos in attract mode run alot smoother. Brilliant!

Yes attract mode videos and snap videos should be improved.

In 7.75, the alphablended title text should be turned off when scrolling through the list, are you using 7.75? If so maybe I need to fix it.

[Tom Speirs]

strangeways this appears in the new media center theme but not when in my own theme. how can i get this in my theme?

Sorry, Im not sure what your asking. Can you be more specific please?

[Tom Speirs]

Everything is fixed in the latest version apart from the alpha fade (not sure if it's intentional but it dosn't look as good as earlier versions AFAIK) and the clock animation is still the same. Buuuut, I'm sounding too much like I'm complaining, this is a really great release, everything else is fine now. Great work Tom

BTW I'm always happy to do personal testing if need be

HK, the speed issues scrolling through the list should be fixed in 7.76.

[Quinn]

Tom,

Just upgraded to 7.76, and, now, I am unable to launch games (at least from my NES library, haven't tested others). This wasn't a problem before I did the automated upgrade. Also, just to rule out a fluke, I backed up my config, did a clean install (including deleting the left-over GameEx folder and its contents, and restoring my backed-up config,) but still, no dice.

Also, another interesting element of this new issue is that Media Center re-launches itself after the crash, and does so before I dismiss the Error Log window.

Just figured I'd give you a heads-up...not sure if it's relevant to this, but, haven't seen it since before the latest version...

Thanks for your ongoing support!

--Quinn

PS: Log file is attached. :-)

log.txt

[Tom Speirs]

Tom,

Just upgraded to 7.76, and, now, I am unable to launch games (at least from my NES library, haven't tested others). This wasn't a problem before I did the automated upgrade. Also, just to rule out a fluke, I backed up my config, did a clean install (including deleting the left-over GameEx folder and its contents, and restoring my backed-up config,) but still, no dice.

Also, another interesting element of this new issue is that Media Center re-launches itself after the crash, and does so before I dismiss the Error Log window.

Just figured I'd give you a heads-up...not sure if it's relevant to this, but, haven't seen it since before the latest version...

Thanks for your ongoing support!

--Quinn

PS: Log file is attached. :-)

hi Can you specify exactly when Gameex crashes. Is it when loading the list of neS games or selecting a game from the list or selecting Play this Game?

[headkaze]

HK, the speed issues scrolling through the list should be fixed in 7.76.

Indeed it does cheers!

[Quinn]

Tom,

It crashes (almost) immediately after I press "OK/Select" (on my MCE Remote) on the game I want to start. It looks as if GameEx "dies" instantly, before it even gets a chance to run the necessary launch command(s).

Thanks,

Quinn

hi Can you specify exactly when Gameex crashes. Is it when loading the list of neS games or selecting a game from the list or selecting Play this Game?

[Tom Speirs]

Tom,

It crashes (almost) immediately after I press "OK/Select" (on my MCE Remote) on the game I want to start. It looks as if GameEx "dies" instantly, before it even gets a chance to run the necessary launch command(s).

Thanks,

Quinn

Can you try 7.77 please. Thanks

[Quinn]

Tom,

Thanks ever so much...that did just the trick! I'll let you know if I come across anything else of significance...

Thanks again!

--Quinn

Can you try 7.77 please. Thanks

[Quinn]

Tom,

Seems there are still a few related issues after all...

1. The MCE Remote "Start" Button starts Media Center but fails to close GameEx (when GameEx is running and I want to go back to Media Center).

2. Switching to GameEx after such a failure causes GameEx to throw an exception identical to the one in the log I previously posted.

Also, I don't believe this is appropriate placement for such discussion (let me know if it is and I will take it elsewhere,) but, I have seen an increasing number of issues with Media Center/GameEx interaction (mainly DirectX failures when going to GameEx) ever since I switched my TV tuner from an ATI eHome Wonder to an nVidia DualTV MCE. Just thought I should mention it here given the nature of the errors GameEx is reporting here.

Thanks again for all your help!

--Quinn

NOTE:

Edited for clarity of issue #1

[nexus6]

Sorry, Im not sure what your asking. Can you be more specific please?

ok: in the media center theme the select line 2 fades in and out while scrolling through the gamelist. in my own theme this line flies in from above. how can i change this?

[Tom Speirs]

ok: in the media center theme the select line 2 fades in and out while scrolling through the gamelist. in my own theme this line flies in from above. how can i change this?

nexus. In the latest version it should do it now.